Prayer Jars

Prayer is something that has been heavy on my heart lately. Something I know is important but I need to do more of. Janae and I were given the opportunity to have a devotional session with the women in the Women’s Shelter this morning. We weren’t sure what to focus on, but prayer kept coming up. I had a bunch of leftover pint sized mason jars from my wedding, so after some brainstorming we decided it would be neat to make Prayer Jars. We knew the women were very creative and enjoyed decoupage so we gathered supplies, asked staff to donate old magazines and got some tissue paper.

It was an amazing morning. Janae shared about the power of prayer. How we can pray in times of brokenness and loss – which she recently experienced after her grandfather passed away. She shared how prayer can overcome situations that seem hopeless; like she saw in her friend who was healed of a brain tumor. And about how we need to be careful to not let prayer become routine, but remember how sacred it is. I shared the story of the hummingbird my mother saw during a weekend full of a lot of heavy and heartbreaking stories (the kind you just don’t know how to pray for) – it was a reminder to her that not only is God completely engaged with the hard things, but he’s also there in all the little details too. He cares and wants to be in relationship and conversation with us!

Right before the class, a counselor came in with a few of her magazines to donate to the project. As we started to make our jars, I picked up one of her editions and it was full of hummingbirds! I asked the ladies if any of them wanted one on their prayer jar and they were gone in seconds.

The women- there were about 30 of us - dove right into making their jars. It represents a place for them to keep prayers and praises but also a place for them to keep verses or other things they hear from God – a two-way conversation!

We had an hour but we could have actually used more time! The jars were turning out beautifully! We had a brief sharing time at the end and most of the images and colors on the jars carried so much meaning. A picture of a path, representing prayer as the road to God, a picture of a little dog, much like the one someone had as a child, tissue paper as stained glass, words that represented challenges and hopes in someone’s life (life-change – what she wants, married – she wants to keep this, honesty – needs to work on this with her husband, lies - needs to stop the lies she tells).

Janae and I even got to make our very own prayer jars. It was a really encouraging time and the ladies were all really excited about their jars and some placed them immediately by their beds. There were even three teenage boys who participated and just diligently worked on their jars the whole time.

Carrie King • Graphic and Publication Design Specialist